What stirs the soul more deeply than the quintessential pairing of rabbits and the moon? Something about this coupling must resonate deeply with the human heart because the Moon and Rabbit folklore motif is interwoven into many folktales throughout the world: the Maya moon goddess is represented with a rabbit in her lap; in Zambia the rabbit Kululu was banished to the moon; in Aztec culture the rabbit also lives on the moon; and rabbits and the moon are a central theme in Celtic, Egyptian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean folklore. Reflecting on one particular tale, the ancient Chinese folktale of the Rabbit on the Moon, we can explore and discover one way to make meaning of this beloved coupling that might offer insight into why it has captivated our human imagination generation after generation.
In China, the ancient folktale of the Rabbit on the Moon dates back 2,500 years and is a story about how the Jade Emperor comes down to earth from the heavens in search of a soul worthy of being the Guardian for the most highly-prized Jade, white nephrite Jade, that comes in various shades of translucent white to light yellow (just like the moon!). At the time of the folktale’s original telling, Jade was thought to have magical, mystical or immortal powers and was the link between the realms of physicality and spirituality, possessing the qualities of both yin and yang, day and night. In fact, Jade was imbued with medicinal qualities and, if ground up and consumed, was thought to increase longevity so the Jade Guardian would also be considered the Keeper of Medicines.
After considering many options, the Jade Emperor chose the rabbit to be the Jade Guardian and Keeper of Medicines. Although this is not explicitly stated in the story, there is synchronicity in the dual, both-and, neither-here-nor-there meaning of Jade in Chinese folklore and the crepuscular behavior of rabbits who forage for food in the twilight hours betwixt-and-between daylight and nighttime lending themselves well to being associated with this semi-precious gem with similar in-between qualities. The Jade Emperor invites the rabbit to the moon where he becomes the Jade Guardian, Keeper of Medicines, often depicted in illustrations pounding a mortar and pestel, the traditional way jade was ground into a fine powder to make the magical medicinal elixir. The moon, similar to jade and like the rabbit, shifts between phases, never only dark and neither only light, moving in phases between the two in varying degrees and it is precisely this recurring cycle of changes which is its enduring quality.
Unsurprisingly the rabbit, the moon and jade mirror each other in their in-between, both-and qualities making a remarkable, powerful and enduring trio that you find captured in the symbol of three rabbits or three hares in a circular design. This motif was first found in cave temples in China in the 6th and 7th centuries and perhaps referenced the shared in-between, both-and, qualities of rabbits, the moon, and jade. Archeological research shows this same motif appearing in folklore from cultures located at many points on the Silk Road all the way to Ireland where today you find the same motif attributed with different meanings: in Celtic folklore it is a symbol of fertility, the lunar cycle, and the feminine aspect of nature.
There is much to be said of the Lady on the Moon who also appears in the original Chinese folktale. Chang-e is her name, and she was the lover of a skillful archer named Houyi whom the Jade Rabbit awarded a small portion of the Jade elixir for his archery achievements. Houyi realizes consuming the elixir would make him immortal separating him from the human realm and also from his mortal lover Chang-e. Because he loves Chang-e, he chooses not to take it. But when he is out hunting, Chang-e takes it herself. There are many versions of the folktale each offering different reasons why she took the elixir: one version suggests Chang-e was a jealous lover living in the shadow of her heroic husband and wanted to escape her marriage; another suggests her intents were for the greater good and she wanted to save the elixir from getting into the hands of a thief. Whatever the reason was, after taking the elixir she finds herself ascending to the moon where all immortals live for eternity while Houyi watches in anguish from his mortal location on the earth, forever separated from his lover, always wondering why she had betrayed him. In some versions of the story he eventually forgives Chang-e and builds himself a shelter on the sun where he calculates the revolutions of the moon, and maps out the planetary orbits so he might be near his lover once a year when the sun and moon are closest in their cyclical paths. Ultimately the love story between the Lady on the Moon and her mortal lover is one of connection and detachment, a relationship between mortal and immortal, intertwined through love yet forever separated by betrayal. . .magnifying the in-between, both-and qualities of the rabbit-moon-jade trio.
I am particularly enthralled with Jennifer S. Cheng’s rendition of this Moon Rabbit folktale in her book Moon: Letters, Maps, Poems and the beautiful lyrical metaphors sprinkled throughout the book which she uses to reflect on this same theme. Cheng says, “To dress in the intimacy of second-hand clothing: to wear something, like a sweater, that has been stretched by the warmth of another’s frame: to know that each loose patch, each gathered seam, holds the ghostly imprint of another’s movements: a bodily knowledge: a layering of echoes: to take an object historically defined and set its borders in motion” (p. 8 from the “Prelude: Sequesterings”). Here is one example where Cheng shows the malleability of a border between things, the liminal place in between this and that where the tension begins to dissolve and magic of this folktale happens.
A handcrafted linocut print inspired by the story of the Jade Rabbit and Lady on the Moon surrounded by traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.
Perhaps there is some timeless and potent wisdom in these qualities that merits their recurrence in this motif, and their power to resonate over the ages in many cultures and landscapes. According to Sophie Strand, in her chapter “The Moon Belongs to Everyone: Lunar Medicine for the Masculine” in her book The Flowering Wand: Rewinding the Sacred Masculine (2022) says that “To be lunar means to change - to be full and ripe one night, and tired and reclusive another”. It is a state of being untethered to one thing. Although her focus is on showing how gender is lunar, in the context of this reflection on the Rabbit and Moon motif, we can begin to recognize how all things are lunar in this way too. Strand reminds us that in the very DNA of all life on earth is the drive to survive which requires adaptability, flexibility and relationality. She says, “The moon encourages us to dissolve our edges rather than affirm them”. . .and most certainly all three in the trio - the rabbit, the moon and jade - embody this quality.
What are folktales, if not ancient whispers passed through generations, asking what is sacred? What must be remembered? And perhaps, most haunting of all: will we ever be worthy of the stories we inherit? Achingly beautiful, the folktale of the Rabbit on the Moon encourages us to recognize the deep and intimate relationship between things that seem separate: the immortal Lady on the Moon and her human lover; Jade that combines yin and yang; or the twilight and sunrise that wed together daytime and nighttime. This is the medicine the Jade Rabbit safely keeps on the moon through the generations so that today, in our contemporary times fraught with divisiveness and social isolation, we can all be nourished and healed from its message of relationality, entwinement and the timeless heartwarming love story between all that is and will be.
Note* In some versions of the story there are more details about the Emperor’s choice. The monkey returned laden with fruits he had gathered from up in the trees. The fox returned with some fish he had caught in a nearby stream. But the rabbit could not find any food for the old man from the woodland floor but realized that he could sacrifice himself so that the man could eat, so he threw himself into the fire in an ultimate act of selflessness. At that instant the beggar turned back into the Jade Emperor and caught the rabbit before he fell into the fire. With this selfless act of sacrifice, the Jade Emperor realized the rabbit was the deserving creature who would be entrusted to carry out the noble job of creating the elixir of immortality.
References:
Cheng, Jennifer S. (2018). Moon: Letters, Maps, Poems. Tarpaulin Sky Press.
Strand, Sophie (2022). The Flowering Wand: Rewinding the Sacred Masculine. Inner Traditions.
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